Mets' Noah Syndergaard shut down six weeks with right elbow inflammation

Noah Syndergaard’s season — and his Mets future — is in question after a significant setback in his recovery from Tommy John surgery.

He will not throw for at least six weeks after being diagnosed with right elbow inflammation, Mets manager Luis Rojas said Thursday. But there is no damage to the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow — which required surgery 14 months ago — according to Rojas.

That puts Syndergaard on track for a best-case-scenario return sometime in August. Even that, however, is not a guarantee.

"We pray he can pitch for us this year," Rojas said. "It’s big, it’s big. We were counting on him being here probably a month or less than a month from now, and this happening is tough."

How confident are the Mets that Syndergaard will pitch this year?

"I really want to wait for this time to pass and give the respect to our medical group to work with him and also Noah, who’s put a lot of work in," Rojas said. "Let’s just see this work now for the six weeks."

Syndergaard is scheduled to be a free agent after this season, raising the possibility that his injury-laden Mets career is over. He has not been on a major-league mound since September 2019.

Syndergaard was not available to reporters Thursday. He has not held a news conference since before his March 2020 diagnosis and operation.

His shutdown came after he suffered a sudden and dramatic drop in velocity in his rehabilitation start with Low-A St. Lucie on Tuesday. Scheduled to throw at least four innings, Syndergaard was pulled after one. His fastball velocity dropped from 94-95 mph early in the inning to 89-92 mph late in the inning, according to a scout in attendance.

"Nobody is overly concerned," Rojas said that night.

Now, the Mets’ rotation depth has taken another huge hit. Lefthanders David Peterson and Joey Lucchesi seemingly are locked into starting spots for at least the next month-plus. Rojas said the Mets have not discussed using Seth Lugo, expected back next week after February surgery to remove bone chips from his right elbow, as a starter.

After his abbreviated outing Tuesday, Syndergaard got an MRI and returned to New York. Rojas said he had not talked to Syndergaard yet, preferring to wait to do that in person. That his UCL is fine is a relief for him and the Mets. A second Tommy John surgery — which is uncommon but not unprecedented — would cost him at least most of the 2022 season.

And so Syndergaard is stuck in rehab purgatory.

"This is the right approach, just being preventative . . . rather than having anything major," Rojas said.

This is the latest example of a new wrinkle in the Mets’ injury issues: Injured players getting further injured. In addition to Syndergaard, Carlos Carrasco (right hamstring), Brandon Nimmo (left index finger) and J.D. Davis (left hand) have suffered setbacks in their comebacks.

Altogether, the Mets have 17 players on the injured list.

"We just gotta respect the time, we gotta respect the experts and we gotta respect the players' health," Rojas said. "You want to see them here and they want to be here competing. As hard as that is, you also want to take into consideration that everything has its time. So what's best for the player to perform at his best is what we want."